Caledonia Gladiators (women)

Last updated

Caledonia Gladiators
Caledonia Gladiators logo.png
League WBBL
Founded2016;7 years ago (2016)
HistoryCaledonia Pride
2016-2022
Caledonia Gladiators
2022-present
Arena Playsport Arena [1]
Location East Kilbride, Scotland
Head coachMiguel Ángel Ortega Marco
OwnershipSteve and Alison Timoney
Website Official website

The Caledonia Gladiators are a professional women's basketball team based in East Kilbride, Scotland. Formerly known as Caledonia Pride, they are the first and currently only women's professional basketball team in Scotland, competing in the Women's British Basketball League (WBBL).

Contents

History

Caledonia Pride (2016-2022)
In May 2016, the Women's British Basketball League awarded a franchise to basketballscotland, seeking to establish a franchise to help better prepare the Scottish national team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. [2] [3] In August 2016, the name Caledonia Pride was chosen and the team's coach was announced to be Edinburgh University women's head coach Bart Sengers, who would coach Pride for the next six seasons. [4] [5] After a 6 year run as Caledonia Pride and a disappointing 31 wins from 104 league games it was time for Scotland’s only professional female basketball team to look at a new way forward in respect of playing personnel and proper funding.

Caledonia Gladiators (2022-present)
In June 2022, basketballscotland announced the transfer of the professional franchise to the Lady Rocks basketball club. [6] [7] The new team was named Caledonia Gladiators, referencing the original name of the Lady Rocks club formed in 2006, with plans for their own custom-built facility in Lanarkshire. [8] [9] The 2022-23 season saw the newly formed club finish 2nd in the WBBL, a highest ever finish for any Scottish team. The 2023-24 season saw the Gladiators enter the FIBA EuroCup Women in a first ever foray into European competition. This was a successful run to the knockout stages of the competition.

Home Venue

A purpose built 6000 seater arena is currently under construction in East Kilbride. Due for completion in 2024 this will be the home venue for the Caledonia Gladiators franchise.

Home games have also been played at the Grangemouth Sports Complex, Falkirk; Emirates Arena, Glasgow and The Peak, Stirling.

Season-by-season records

SeasonDivisionTierRegular SeasonPost-SeasonWBBL TrophyWBBL CupHead Coach
FinishPlayedWinsLossesPointsWin %
Caledonia Pride
2016-17 WBBL 19th18513100.278Did not qualifyPool Stage1st roundBart Sengers
2017-18 WBBL 17th20713140.350Quarter-finalsPool StageRunners UpBart Sengers
2018-19 WBBL 111th2241880.182Did not qualifyPool StageQuarter-finalsBart Sengers
2019-20 WBBL 1Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemicPool Stage1st roundBart Sengers
2020-21 WBBL 111th2031760.150Did not qualify1st roundDid not competeBart Sengers
2021-22 WBBL 16th241212240.500Semi-finals1st roundGroup StageBart Sengers
Caledonia Gladiators
2022-23 WBBL 12nd22175340.773Semi-finalsQuarter-finalsQuarter-finalsMiguel Ángel Ortega Marco

Players

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.

No.PositionPlayer
4Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO PG Robyn Lewis
5Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS F Samantha Roscoe
9Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO G Hannah Robb
11Flag of Spain.svg  ESP G Ariadna Pujol Lluch
12Flag of Ukraine.svg  UKR F Yevheniia Putra
15Flag of Senegal.svg  SEN C Sokhna Bintou Lo
22Flag of England.svg  ENG F Chantelle Handy
23Flag of the United States.svg  USA G Laken James
25Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO F Kirsty Brown
50Flag of Mali.svg  MLI G Djenaba N’Diaye

Honours

WBBL Cup

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Basketball League</span> Professional sports league founded 1987

The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs from Wales or Northern Ireland. The BBL runs two additional knockout competitions alongside the BBL Championship which are the BBL Trophy and the end-of-season BBL Playoffs. In March, there will be a BBL All-Star game which will replace the BBL Cup knockout competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicester Riders</span> British professional basketball team

Leicester Riders are a British professional basketball team and the oldest club in the British Basketball League (BBL). Established in 1967, the club have played in various locations around Leicestershire before moving to their current purpose-built home venue, the Morningside Arena, in 2016.

Nerston is a village situated on the northern green-belt boundary of the new town of East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

The Scottish Basketball Championship is the national basketball league of Scotland. The league forms the second and third tiers of British basketball after the professional setup of the British Basketball League, where Scotland currently has one representative in the Caledonia Gladiators.

City of Edinburgh B.C. is an amateur basketball club based in the Portobello area of Edinburgh, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Basketball</span> National sports governing body for basketball in Great Britain

The British Basketball Federation, known as British Basketball, is the national sports governing body for basketball in Great Britain. It organises Great Britain teams for men and women in international competition. Northern Irish players normally compete for Ireland, but are also eligible to compete for the GB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Scotland Warriors</span> Basketball team in Edinburgh, Scotland

East Scotland Warriors was a proposed British professional basketball team to be based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and members of the British Basketball League. Established in 2013, the team were to commence play in the 2015–16 season, using Meadowbank Arena as its home venue. Following an agreement between the BBL and the Warriors ownership that the franchise would defer their entry into the League due to concerns over its financial backing, the team later did not materialise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's British Basketball League</span> Top womens basketball competition in Great Britain

The Women's British Basketball League (WBBL) is the top-level women's basketball league in Great Britain, founded on 5 June 2014 as the women's counterpart to the British Basketball League (BBL). The league's headquarters are in Leicester alongside the offices of the men's BBL.

The 2015–16 season was the 47th campaign of the Scottish Men's National League, the national basketball league of Scotland. The league was rebranded as part of the Scottish Basketball Championships. 18 teams were split into Division 1, featuring 10 teams, and Division 2, featuring 8 teams. Boroughmuir Blaze won their 10th league title and their first in 38 years.

The 2015–16 season of the Scottish Women's National League. 10 teams featured in a single division. In September 2015, Scottish National Basketball League (SNBL) was rebranded as part of the Scottish Basketball Championship (SBC).

The Scottish Basketball Championship Women is the national women's basketball league of Scotland.

The 2016–17 season was the 3rd of the Women's British Basketball League. The league consists of 10 teams from across the United Kingdom.

Gareth Murray is a Scottish former professional basketball player and head coach for Caledonia Gladiators, born in Arbroath. He also serves as the Gladiators current head coach.

The Durham Palatinates are an English women's basketball team based in Durham, England. The Palatinates compete in the Women's British Basketball League (WBBL), the premier women's basketball competition in the United Kingdom.

The Nottingham Wildcats are an English basketball club based in Nottingham, England. The Wildcats' senior women's team compete in the Women's British Basketball League (WBBL).

The 2020–21 WBBL season was the 7th season of the Women's British Basketball League, the top British women's professional basketball league, since its establishment in 2014. The season featured 11 teams from across England, Scotland and Wales.

The 2022–23 BBL season was the 36th season of the British Basketball League, the top British professional basketball league, since its establishment in 1987. The season featured 10 teams from across England and Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caledonia Gladiators</span> Scottish professional basketball team

The Caledonia Gladiators are a professional basketball club based in East Kilbride, Scotland. The Gladiators compete as the sole-Scottish based team in the British Basketball League, the top tier of domestic basketball in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Roscoe</span> Australian basketball player

Samantha Issabelle Roscoe is an Australian-British professional basketball player for the Caledonia Gladiators of the Women's British Basketball League (WBBL). She played college basketball in the United States for the North Dakota Fighting Hawks between 2013 and 2017 before splitting her time between Australia and Europe following college. She won an SBL championship with the Lakeside Lightning in 2018 and a championship in Bosnia in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playsport Arena</span>

Playsport Arena is a two-stage sports and entertainment arena in East Kilbride, Scotland. The main arena will have a seating capacity for 6,000 spectators. The arena's main tenants will be the Caledonia Gladiators basketball teams, who will move from their previous homes at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow and the Lagoon Centre in Paisley for the start of the 2023–24 season.

References

  1. 1 2 Caledonia Gladiators win on British Basketball League debut in new East Kilbride home, BBC Sport, 6 October 2023
  2. ↑ Woods, Mark (13 May 2016). "Basketball: Capital side added to league". The National . Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Egelstaff, Susan (16 September 2016). "Basketball: Wood full of pride as she fulfils her dream calling". The National. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Sutherland, Sandy (2 August 2016). "Scotland's new women's basketball team named Caledonia Pride". Edinburgh Evening News . Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Sutherland, Sandy (2 June 2016). "Bart Sengers sets out holy trinity for basketball". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "A statement on the future of Caledonia Pride". 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  7. ↑ Woods, Mark (13 June 2022). "PRIDE TO MOVE WEST, BECOME ROCKS". MVP247.com. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  8. ↑ Tiwari, Vidushi (13 July 2022). "Women's basketball takes a leap in Scotland with new pro team". STV. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Creation of new pro basketball team plus major investment will promote Scotland as a serious player in the UK basketball arena". WBBL. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.